Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has hinted he may bow out of Formula 1 at the end of his current contract.
The reigning World Champion is on a long-term contract with Red Bull which sees the 24-year-old on a reported £40m-a-year deal until 2028.
The Red Bull driver has previously made it clear he wants to stay with the team for the duration of his F1 career, and the Dutchman’s current contract will take him up to his 31st birthday.
When asked about his plans for the future, the World Champion says he is unsure about his next move post-F1.
“I’m not planning on changing teams. I’m happy here and they are happy with me,” explained Verstappen, quoted by the Daily Mail. “But I haven’t made up my mind what I will do after 2028. I might stop.
“I have been in Formula 1 since I was 17. It’s been a long time. I’ve done a lot of seasons in F1.
“I may want to do different stuff. By 31, I don’t know whether I will have peaked or where the drop-off in performance may have occurred.
“I want to do other types of races — endurance racing, for example. Maybe I will have had enough of travelling all the time. Maybe I will want an easier life and just to do the races I like.
“Whenever an opportunity comes to win a championship, you want to take it. If I’m in a fight in 2028 it may be stupid to suddenly stop. It’s difficult to know.’
The Dutchman has been in F1 since 2015 when he drove for Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso and, at 17 years old, became the youngest driver to ever race in a grand prix.
The Red Bull driver currently leads Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by six points, after a string of three consecutive victories which brought the Dutchman right back into championship contention.
Verstappen claimed his first title in 2021 at the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last of the season. The Red Bull driver’s rival was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton that year and Verstappen has admitted both drivers have moved on from last season.
“I…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News – PlanetF1…